Josie Talbot is a World, Oceania and
Australian Champion, the path to get there has been full of
triumphs but not everything has been easy for Talbot who
started cycling as an under 15. Her first serious race was the New
South Wales state championship road race. It is a race that
Talbot would win and a spot in the state road team followed.

Since then Talbot has won numerous Australian and Oceania
titles on the track and road as well as claiming her first
World Championship success in 2014 in the team pursuit.
Despite the success it was not an easy time for Talbot who had
been struggling all year to enjoy riding her bike.

Talbot got her start in triathlons before moving to cycling. "I really
hated swimming training; I hated the early mornings. I had a
natural talent for the sport at the get go, which I am so
grateful for. I also followed my brother into the sport as
he'd started racing as a junior as well.

The social aspect is another thing that Talbot loved. "To be
honest I made friends really easily with my competitors, which
is always going to sway a child to something. I purely enjoyed
going away for junior tours and coming home with a bit of
pocket money every now and then."

Despite the success as one of Australia's top junior cyclists
Talbot stopped enjoying the sport. "I can't pinpoint the exact moment
I thought 'hey I don't like riding my bike anymore' but it
encroached on me every day," revealed Talbot. "Making new
friends and discovering a bit of a social life for the first
time, after my family and I had moved down to Gods country –
Wollongong really changed my view.

"Having a bad first experience at junior worlds in Glasgow a
year before made me a bit more open to having a social life
and not devoting all of my time into training. I'd had enough
of it!"

With a successful start to the 2014 season including winning
the under 19 omnium for the second year in a row Talbot was in
a hard place. Not enjoying it and not knowing what to do about it. "Last
year was a hard year for myself. Imagine being selected to represent your country, an
opportunity that a million other boys and girls would give
their right arm for, and wanting so badly to say no. That's
what I was battling with the whole year.

"I felt so guilty and arrogant for what I was feeling but
junior worlds in Korea was the last place I wanted to go,"
Despite not wanting to be there, another thought kept Talbot
from saying no. "At the same time though I couldn't let myself
go without a rainbow jersey.

"So I forced the urge and hated every session of training I'd
completed that year. I commend my coach at the time, Mick
Kejda, for having to deal with me. I would ring him up and
tell him that I only wanted to do one track session today
instead of the two that were on my program and wouldn't back
down until I'd persuaded him to agree. I was a totally
different person."

The reason why was a combination of things. "Self doubt and
doubt in others, turning 18, and being in my HSC year," said
Talbot as she reflected on what was a difficult year.

Despite the battle of not wanting to be there and not enjoying
it Talbot's time in Korea allowed her to obtain the one thing
that stopped her from giving up. A world title. "To be honest,
and I think I could speak on behalf of some of the other girls
on the team, it was a big relief and weight off our shoulders
to pull on the rainbow jersey," said Talbot. "Not getting the
jersey the year before was a massive shock so we went out
there purely to redeem ourselves."

At the time Talbot was unsure of what it meant. "For me
personally, at the time it was hard to comprehend because of
the battle I went through in the lead up to the event." Almost
a year on and the uncertainty is behind her. "I look at the
jersey on the wall now and I'm so proud of myself but at the
time, my attitude wasn't in the right place to really
appreciate what the jersey meant."

August nine, the date of the team pursuit final was a day of
double celebration. Not only did Australia take home the gold
but also it was Talbot's birthday. With it came a present that
money cannot buy - a world title on your birthday. "My
teammates and friends definitely made me feel special over
there in Korea. My room was full of balloons; I wore a
birthday hat all day and even ate cake after racing! So yeah
it was quite a day!

"It was good because my mind was too busy to worry about over
thinking the racing or getting nervous so the celebrations
helped to balance out emotions."

A quick turn of speed and strong tactics in the bunch allowed
Talbot to come home with three medals, having won bronze in
both the points and scratch races. For Talbot who is always
chasing success bronze was not quite what she had hoped. "I
went to Korea to win and coming home with bronze medals meant
that I was unsuccessful. People may think I sound arrogant but
everyone sets themselves goals and that's what I had done and
I didn't achieve those goals.

"Again, when I look at the medals today I appreciate them so
much, but I really wanted that second rainbow jersey."

After Junior World Championships it was decision time, as it
is for a lot of riders who are about to move to the elite
level. The question of what next? For Talbot after more than a
year of not enjoying racing it was
time for a break. "It was very important decision to take a
break. I learnt a lot about myself, and what my values as a
person truly are," explained Talbot. "I am very proud of the
person I am today and I know taking that time away helped to
shape the real me.

"As a whole my junior worlds campaign, both years was a
negative experience through my eyes so removing myself from
that environment was the best thing I could have done for
myself."

Much has been written about the experience of the Junior World
Championships. The pressure. The importance. Opinions vary.
"Junior worlds is such a controversial experience because as
youngsters, it is the pinnacle of our career," explains Talbot who now has a different take on it to the one she had
before. "Unfortunately we don't realise until after we've had
the experience that it's not the most important thing, and in
reality it's really a tiny blimp in our careers.

"I think I definitely learnt that the hard way and put way too
much pressure on the situation at the start," added a
reflective Talbot. "Taking a break was well needed and I would
tell any junior cyclist aspiring to go to junior worlds to
just remember that enjoying what you're doing and having fun
is way more important than any rainbow jersey."

For a teenager who has spent much of their teenage years
competing and pushing themselves there will inevitably be
challenges. "This is a hard one," reveals Talbot on
her biggest challenge before adding
"I think the biggest challenge in my career so far has been to
keep everything in perspective and enjoy the present.

"Sport is hard to be involved in because you're constantly
striving for goals in the future." Which for Talbot has been
difficult but her time off the bike has allowed her to reflect
and find a balance. "Sometimes you need to take the time to
think about every pedal revolution and ask yourself why you
enjoy turning them so much.

"Stop and have a coffee with friends or look at the view on
top of the mountain. I used to only think about the
competition and goals that I was training for, which made
cycling a very difficult task to complete every single day.

When asked the question of what made her get back on the bike it is
a combination of reasons. "Boredom. No school and only casual
work equates to lots of spare time.

"I did miss riding my bike everyday though. I missed
travelling and racing and being fit."

With nearly a year off her track bike following the 2014 Junior
World Championships, Talbot made her first appearance as a senior at the
International Track Series in Adelaide at the end of May.
"Heading in I definitely wasn't expecting too much," said
Talbot. "I had to keep reminding myself where I was and what
I've been doing with myself for the last half a year. I was
there to race and find my feet again.

"It was hard because being in under 19's I was used to being
at the top, so throwing myself straight into an elite race
against the best in the world (literally), after having half a
year off the track was difficult. I don't like being the
little fish."

Despite her break Talbot improved as the racing went on
including picking up a third place finish in one of the omnium
scratch races. When asked if she was happy with how she went.
"Yes and no," was the answer. "I definitely got more
comfortable as the week went on and I came away with some good
results and a lot of things to work on which was expected.

"I'm very hard on myself though so you'll never hear me say
that I'm happy with a 10th place finish in any circumstance,"
explained Talbot with a bit of a laugh."

With the 2015-16 track season fast approaching Talbot is
looking forward to new challenges. "I guess I need put my
stamp back on the page.

"Having my break caused me to miss some great opportunities
like World Cups and my first nationals as an elite so I'm in a
position where I have to prove myself, wave my hand in the air
to remind everybody that I'm back on my bike and here to
race."